JHS Alpine

When JHS bought Sky Pedals, one of their most beloved boxes, the Cloud9, was used as the foundation of the Alpine. This pedal is not as at seems, with much more versatility than a cursory glance would indicate. Especially when the effects loop is put to use, you can find yourself in a whole new world of possibilities. While this pedal’s sounds are wonderful, it can be a bit of a daunting task to set up and use during a show. It takes a fair amount of trial and error to figure out how best to use this thing.

External Control: NoneCost: $$$

HornFX Review

Interface: 2.5/5The knobs on this pedal can be a bit misleading with their labeling, but they function in a wonderfully organic way. The settings are all simple once you learn what they do, and the shift button and knob add some ease of use.

Versatility: 3/5Although this does not have variable reverb modes, there are enough parameters to manipulate that add different color and character to the reverb. The addition of the effects loop can further expand your reverb sounds.

Quality of Effect: 4/5The Alpine makes some beautiful sounds. The reverb is clear and strong and lush. The quality is also enhanced by the trails function which gives a more organic decay even when you turn off the pedal mid-reverberation.

Complexity: Medium

Live application: 3.5/5This is a great pedal for live use. If you find a sound you like to use all the time, then you can set it and forget it. But if there are a couple you like, you can dial in the second one using the shift knob and use the secondary button as a preset. The on the fly manipulability is surprisingly good as well.